NSO's Choice
From Schubert to Shostakovich
2017-04-28 Fri 19:30 | National Concert Hall | 400 700 1000 1200 1500 | Buy |
GÁBOR BOLDOCZKI, trumpet
KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI: Concertino for Trumpet and Orchestra
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 15, Op. 141, A major
Shostakovich’s 15th and final symphony (1971) is a truly fascinating, enigmatic score. In some ways it is a throwback to the 19th century. In others, it could only be from the 20th. It has no “program,” but every listener will inevitably find a personal “meaning” in it, based on quotations Shostakovich incorporated from Wagner, Glinka, and even the “Lone Ranger” theme from Rossini’s opera William Tell. Penderecki’s Trumpet Concertino (2015) features Hungarian virtuoso Gábor Boldoczki, who gave the world premiere in Germany. “To me,” says Boldoczki, “this work has a huge importance, as it is a showcase for the trumpet with all it has to offer, especially in terms of virtuosity.” To open the program we hear a thoroughly delightful, early symphony of Schubert, brimming with melody and good cheer.